# toxic

Pronunciation: say "TOK-sik" US /ˈtɑk.sɪk/, UK /ˈtɒk.sɪk/

## Adjective

1. Harmful to health, or deadly, when swallowed or otherwise taken into the body in large enough amounts.
   - Simple: Able to harm or kill you if it gets into the body in large enough amounts.
   - _Mercury is highly toxic and builds up in the body over time._
   - _Workers wore masks to avoid breathing the toxic fumes._
2. Severely negative or harmful in its effects.
   - Simple: Very harmful or bad for the people or things involved.
   - _The merger left the company saddled with toxic debt it could never repay._
   - _A toxic mix of secrecy and fear derailed the negotiations._
3. Hateful, or full of strong ill will toward others.
   - Simple: Full of hate or cruelty that hurts the people around you.
   - _He cut ties with several toxic friends who only dragged him down._
   - _Their toxic rivalry turned every meeting into a shouting match._
4. Appearing seriously unwell, with signs of dangerous, possibly life-threatening problems in breathing, circulation, or other body systems.
   - Simple: Looking very sick, as if the body's main systems are starting to fail.
   - _The triage nurse noted that the infant appeared toxic and flagged him for immediate review._
   - _The man arrived looking toxic, with a racing heart and shallow breathing._

## Origin

Borrowed from French toxique, from Late Latin toxicus ('poisoned') and Latin toxicum ('poison'), which came from Ancient Greek toxikón, meaning poison used on arrows. This in turn came from toxikós ('relating to arrows or archery'), from tóxon ('bow').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/toxic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).